UPCOMING EVENTS
Fast Food Nation, Jan. 4, 7 p.m. Come in
and watch this SPC sponsored movie for free
in GC 150.
National Student Exchange Program,
Jan. 5, 10 a.m. Join in on this free orientation in GC 314 and find out how to become
an exchange student.
Local Folks Artists, Dec. 6, 9 a.m. For
$5, you can listen to the local sound of Sam
Friend, Arboles Libres and Uncle Scotchy.
â&#x20AC;&#x201C; More events can be found in our Monday
and Friday issues of Life!.

Week of events gets
students back in
the swing of things
ADRIANA RODRIGUEZ
Staff Writer
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feeling the winter break blues kick in
already. You are in desperate need of some
FIU school spirit being pumped back in to
your veins to kick off the new semester.
Week of Welcome has just what the doctor
ordered.
The Student Programming Council at
Modesto Maidique Campus commits itself
to planning an array of events to keep the
student body entertained and active in
campus life year round.
$WWKHEHJLQQLQJRIHYHU\VHPHVWHUWKH\
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and president of SPC-MMC. â&#x20AC;&#x153;WoW
is a big kick-off for each semester.
It raises hype about being an FIU
student and allows students to enjoy
WOW, page 8

Rionda
discusses
return of
band
FRANCISCO MARADIAGA
Staff Writer
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a preliminary plan to bring back the
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of the Student Government Council at
Modesto Maidique Campus.
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University President Mark Rosenberg
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Kenneth Jessell partook in numerous
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expected sometime in early January.
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on how the marching band will be
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He did however state that some
of the funds were strung together
from one-time pockets of money.
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the university may have had after
purchases.
SGA, page 3

Microsoft Office now free for students
LAEBONY LIVINGSTON
Staff Writer

proposal.
Marketing coordinator John
Cabarga stated that this is â&#x20AC;&#x153;the first
Thanks to the suggestions from ELJ SURMHFWÂľ WKH ,7 GHSDUWPHQW LV
),8IDFXOW\DQGVWXGHQWVWKH'LYL implementing. Although the benesion of Information Technology fits wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be available till January
has decided to offer free Microsoft WKH LGHD IRU WKH SURMHFW ZDV
Office 2007 and McAfee-Antivirus first proposed in September 2009.
MS Office and McAfee will be
Software to students.
University Information Tech- available to owners of both PCs
nology security officer Cheryl DQG 0DFLQWRVK DQG RQFH HYHU\
thing is complete students will be
Granto submitted this proposal.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Students will enhance their able to download the software right
learning with the ability to use off the IT Web site.
Current students are not the only
these software programs to
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the performance of their personal uated in Fall 2009 as well as future
FRPSXWHUVÂľ VDLG *UDQWR LQ WKH alumni will also be able to take

It is a great opportunity for students who
may not have been able to get [Microsoft]
Office before.
Samantha Rivas, student
Journalism major

advantage of this deal.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think it is good that they are
offering it to students but it would
have been more useful if they had
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major.
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who shopped through us always
JRWDGHDOÂľ&DEDUJDVDLG
Cabarga has also added that this
offer will extend to any upgrades
in the future; students will be able
to download the newest version
of MS Office for free even if they
could not take advantage of the
MS OFFICE, page 3

2

The Beacon – Monday, January 4, 2010

NEWS FLASH
LOCAL
6-year-old shot on New Year’s Eve
A 6-year-old boy was injured during New Year’s
Eve celebrations in Miami’s Design District.
According to The Miami Herald, the boy who
was not identified was shot in the chest by a stray
bullet. Police were unclear as to which direction
the bullet came from.
The boy, who was visiting Miami from Italy,
was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital where
surgery was performed on him. He is expected
to survive.

NATIONAL
TSA lifts subpoena against Internet bloggers
The Transportation Security Administration
lifted subpoenas it had filed against two Internet
writers to determine a source who had leaked to
them an airline security directive.
According to The Associated Press, the agency
no longer needed the information from the two
bloggers as their investigation was “nearing a
successful conclusion.”
The leaked directive spelled out the extra steps
that TSA employees would take after the Christmas Day attack that occured on the Detroit-bound
Northwest flight.

www.fiusm.com

NEWS

Honors College recruits athletes
Campaign aims to
emphasize academics
MELISSA CACERES
Staff Writer
The Honors College and
the Athletics Department
are launching a partnership
that will bring together
sports and academics for
students who seek the best
of both worlds.
With nine of their
students currently playing
for various teams at the
University, the Honors
College is seeking to
recruit more athletes to
their school through this
long-term campaign which

will offer benefits such
as scholarships, smaller
classes and flexible course
scheduling.
“We really want to help
[student athletes] develop
into well-rounded students
where they’re not just
valued by their athletic
ability but for how good
they are in class,” said
Cecile Houry, the Student
Enrichment coordinator for
the Honors College. “And
it looks like right now
we’re at the time and have
the right people in place in
terms of athletics to really

make this happen.”
The college has since
been contacting coaches
from the volleyball, track
& field and women’s
basketball team individually in order to encourage
those students who meet
the 3.3 GPA requirement
to apply to the Honors
College during this Spring
semester.
Hoping to eventually
encompass every sport on
campus,
representatives
from the school have been
reaching out to players
through their presence at
games with events like
pizza parties, football tailgates, and golf scrambles.
“Athletes are generally
not driven to that part of
academics and if they know

that they’re going to go
somewhere important then
it’s hard to motivate them,”
said freshman volleyball
player Chanel Araujo, who
is currently a student at the
Honors College.
“Coming in, I wasn’t at
the top of the pack athletically so I knew that I
needed academics as something to fall back on just in
case it didn’t work out,”
Araujo added.
By becoming members
of the Honors College, the
student athletes will have
benefits that will include
not only smaller classes but
some that span an entire
school year.
This will give them the
HONORS, page 3

GROWTH SPURT

WORLD
Blackwater case dropped by federal judge
Iraqis lashed out on Jan. 1 as they learned that
a case against five Blackwater Worldwide security
guards who opened fire on a group of Iraqi civilians was dropped.
According to the New York Times, the attack,
which occurred on Sept. 16, 2007, killed 17 Iraqis
and wounded 27. Blackwater guards were escorting American diplomats when they opened fire on
a busy traffic circle with automatic machine guns
and sniper fire.
The decision was made by a federal judge citing
misuse of statements collected in the case. The
decision impacted the Justice Deparment’s case,
halting it altogether.
Aside from the five guards accused, a sixth
guard plead guilty to killing one Iraqi civilian and
wounding another.

ABOVE: The construction for Parking
Garage 5, behind the Chemistry and
Physics building and next to the Red
Garage, began at the end of the Fall
2009 semester. It will add 2,000
parking spaces, 1,500 of which will
be available to students. The structure
will contain 30,000 ft of retail space
and will be the new headquarters for
the FIU Police. The garage is set to
open in August of 2010.

– Compiled by Jorge Valens

EDITORIAL BOARD

INFORMATION

EDITOR IN CHIEF
CHRISTOPHER NECUZE

The Beacon is published on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays during the Fall
and Spring semesters and once a week
during Summer B. One copy per person.
Additional copies are 25 cents. The Beacon
is not responsible for the content of ads.
Ad content is the sole responsibility of the
company or vendor. The Beacon is an editorially independent newspaper partially
funded by student and services fees that
are appropriated by student government.
The Beacon office is located in GC 210
at the Modesto Maidique Campus and in
WUC 124 at the Biscayne Bay Campus.
Questions regarding display advertising
and billing should be directed to the Advertising Manager at 305-348-2709. Mailing
address: Graham Center, Room 210, Miami,
FL 33199. Fax number is 305-348-2712.
Biscayne Bay Campus is 305-919-4722.
Office hours are 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday. E-mail: Beacon@fiu.edu.
Visit us online at: www.fiusm.com.

LEFT: The Nursing and Health Sciences building is nearing completion. It
is located directly behind the Chemistry and Physics building and across
from the future site of Parking Garage
5. The building is the first on campus
to be certified by the Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design.
According to the University, some of
the “green” features the building will
have are a self sustaining grass roof
that will not only lend to aesthetics but
also help insulate the building, and
light sensors both inside and outside
the building to better manage power.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS ADAMS/THE BEACON

BELOW: The School of International
and Public Affairs building began
construction in Fall 2009. According
to SIPA’s Web site, the building is expected to be completed in November 2010.

www.fiusm.com

Classes
scheduled
around
practices
HONORS, page 2
opportunity to develop professor-student
relationships that will not be significantly
affected by the scheduling of games and
meets.
“I know there are a lot of girls on the
volleyball team who could make it into
the Honors College,” Araujo said. “But I
think it’s just what people say about it like
‘I have to do all of this extra work and I
don’t need that’ which kind of makes them
feel like not wanting to join.”
Various courses will be implemented
that work around practices and trainings
so that students will not have to be penalized for their established schedules.
“It’s important that scholar athletes get
a good education as well as their athletic
opportunities and we [the Honors College]
do offer something special for them,”
said Lesley Northup, dean of the Honors
College. “This goes especially for athletes
who aren’t going to be in sports that are
going to pay them at a pro level.”
According to Northup, the Honors
College offers a class that may be of
athletic interest, which is centered on
the act of walking. The course studies
the kinesiology, sociology and history of
walking.
“It included literature on historical
pilgrimages and readings on hiking the
Appalachian trail,” Northup said.
“And it was also at 8 a.m. which didn’t
interfere with anybody’s practice schedule
so we’re thinking of instituting another
course that would be at a good time like
that,” Northup added.
Through the partnership, the Honors
College is able to offer Honors College
Athletic Scholarships to its students as
well as opportunities for community
service.
A sports-oriented project is being
developed within the Honors College partnership with the City of Sweetwater that
would allow students to work with elementary school girls in an athletic program.
With the College hoping to bring in
more athletes to the Fall 2010 semester,
the number of applicants continues to
grow as the Honors program makes itself
known to the current 130 FIU athletes.
“There are always these stereotypes
about how athletes aren’t smart or that
they’re not good in school because all they
do is sports,” Houry said. “Those nine
students that we have are doing excellent
in their teams and are doing great academically, so we want to recognize that.”
For more information on the Honors
College, visit honors.fiu.edu.

NEWS

A&S fees
to help
fund band

The Beacon – Monday, January 4, 2010

3

PEPSI CHALLENGE

SGA, page 1
Student Media was unable to reach
Jessell for comment during the break.
Rionda also mentioned that SGA will
contribute $130,000 from Activities and
Service fees students pay in tuition to
help fund the marching band.
That amount was brought up in the
October meeting of the Universitywide Council, which is made up of
student government leaders from both
campuses, where they passed a motion
to bring back the band. There is a possibility that SGA will have to dip into its
monetary reserves to back up any incidentals that might creep up like a bowl
game.
In that is where this new incarnation
of the marching band differs from its
predecessor, the majority of the funding
will come from A&S fees controlled by
SGA.
From what Rionda told Student
Media, the Athletics Department will
not have a funding role with the band,
and the College of Architecture and the
Arts, where the band will be stationed
under, shall have a significantly lesser
contribution than it had in the past.
The marching band was eliminated
last fiscal year amid a wave of budget
cuts. The College of Architecture and
the Arts was unable to meet the reported
$237,000 it set aside to fund the band. The
figure amounted to more than half of its
operating budget, the rest was supplied by
SGA and the Athletics Department, and
dealt a fatal blow to the previous marching
band, the Band of the Sun.
Stressing that he did not have the
numbers in front of him, Rionda’s interpretation of CARTA’s contribution would
be to pay the staff members that would be
beyond the scope of student government,
and Student Affairs.
“We are not in the business of funding

ALEX GARCIA/THE BEACON

Over winter break, the University switched all the vending machines on campus from
Coca Cola to Pepsi. Pepsi branded vending machines and signs have been distributed
throughout campus. The signs read “Pepsi, the official beverage of FIU.”
faculty,” he said.
Funding the faculty involved will fall
on the doorsteps of CARTA’s Director of
Bands Catherine Rand.
It is also expected that CARTA will
provide a class that band members would
be required to take. The money would in
turn go back into the program.
“It’s a lab fee,” Rionda said.
The $130,000 SGA has pledged represents the indispensable lifeline student
government will now be for the marching
band.

Future bodies of SGA will have to
put up an equivalent amount of student
money. It would be completely within
SGA’s prerogative to decided not to fund
in the future, but the loss might prove
insurmountable for the marching band.
Rionda is betting that no student government will have the audacity not to fund
the marching band.
“Something is missing ... It is in the
best interest of students to have a band,”
Rionda said. “We have all seen what
happens when you don’t have it.”

University uses tech fee funds to bring
Office, antivirus software to students
MS OFFICE, page 1
immediate MS Office 2007 download.
IT is currently preparing for the launch
of its Web site and expects it to be ready
in January 2010 for a mass download.
Students will only be able to download
the software one time.
McAfee Anti-Virus Software ranges
from $30 to $40 according to the company’s Web site.
Microsoft Office also varies in price,
ranging from $150 to $500, depending on

the version, according to the Office Web
site.
The version offered by the University will be the Enterprise version, a
mass volume-license version of Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate Edition. This
version includes all Microsoft Office
products including Microsoft Word,
PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote.
The Technology Fee Advisory Council,
lead by Vice President and Chief Information Officer Min Yao, approved $545,966
on Nov. 10, 2009 to be used to make the

proposal possible.
Currently, the technology fee for undergraduate and graduate students is $4.42
and $14.05 per credit hour respectively.
“It is a great opportunity for students
who may not have been able to get MS
Office before,” said freshman journalism
major Samantha Rivas.
Those who have questions about the
offer can visit fiu.edu/techfee for more
information about this proposal as well
as other proposals that are in the process
of being approved and implemented.

t has been said that the 20s are the
best time of a person’s life – and why
wouldn’t it be? That is the time when you
just start to fully grab hold
of your independence and
COLUMNIST
take your place in this
world.
For me, the best part
about being 20 is dating.
I know a lot of people get
married in their 20s, but for
me I love living the single
SABRENA
life. I figure, I can play
JOHNSON
around in my 20s, then
settle down and get married in my 30s. That
way, when I do get married, I don’t feel as if
I’m missing out on something I never had.
We all know that college life already
presents itself with wild adventures and
experiences; when you combine that with
dating in Miami, you end up with quite a
story to tell. This column will give you, the
FIU students, an opportunity to share some
of your dating horror and success stories.
I’m going to start off by telling a horror
story of my own.
While pumping gas one day, a very
attractive guy came up to me and said hi.
Usually I don’t speak to strange men at gas
stations. But he was really cute, so I made
an exception. After talking for about 15

minutes, we exchanged numbers.
He called me that evening around 10 p.m.
and we talked on the phone until midnight.
Before we hung up, he asked me out on a
date and I said yes.
For our date, we went to T.G.I. Friday’s.
I really like the food there and the drinks
are delicious. When it was time to order,
I found it strange that he didn’t order
anything to eat.
“What’s the matter?” I asked. “Why didn’t
you order anything?” I was confused.
“I had a big lunch and I’m still full,” he
replied.
“We could’ve gone to the movies instead.
Now I feel awkward.”
“It’s not a problem; I’m fine just being in
your presence. You go ahead and eat.”
I still thought that it was strange but I
went along with it. I had the fried shrimp
and fries, and he had water. We started
talking but I couldn’t help but notice him
staring at my food. So I offered him some.
“I can’t eat all of this by myself, come
on and help me out,” I said, trying to play
it cool.
To my surprise, he didn’t object. He dug
right in as if to say, “I thought you’d never
ask.” It got to the point where he was eating

At The Bay Asks:
What Is Your
New Years’ Resolution?
“I would like to accomplish all the goals that was set
out from the year before.”
-Sholom Neistein, SGC-BBC President

“I’m going to work on becoming a better person,
spiritually, physically, and mentally. I have a problem
with controlling my temper and I know that’s not the
right way to live. For the New Year, I will be working
on keeping calm in all situations.”
-Michael Stewart, Freshman, Computer Science

“I’ll be turning 30 this year, so one of my resolutions will
be to lose 25 pounds before my birthday in July. That
way, I can start 30 off right.”
-Sandra Harden, Second- Year Graduate Student, Social
Work
For more New Year’s Resolutions, turn to page 5.

SINGLE, page 5

Strained economy turns Miami
boatyard into yacht parking lot
SCOTT ANDRON
AP Wire
Merrill-Stevens Dry Dock Co.,
possibly Florida’s oldest business and
a fixture on the Miami River for more
than 80 years, has mothballed its boatrepair operation. The problem, say the
owners: the weak economy.
For now, the yard that once serviced
yachts for Malcolm Forbes and Ivana
Trump will be used only for boat
storage.
“We have been hit pretty hard by the
economy,” said chairman Hugh Westbrook, who owns the company with his
wife, Carole Shields Westbrook. “As
we wrapped up big jobs, there were no
new jobs to replace them. If business
presents itself, we’ll call back the staff,
but we’re not seeing a fast turnaround
in the yacht business.”
Staff at Merrill-Stevens has been
shaved to fewer than 20, down from
160 employees a few years ago. When
the repair business closed earlier this
month, the company had about 40
employees.
Launched in Jacksonville more
than 140 years ago, Merrill-Stevens
opened its Miami River location in
1923, according to Jimmy Merrill,
whose family started the firm and
owned it before selling it to the Westbrooks in 2004. For almost 50 years,
until 1989, the company also kept a
Coconut Grove outpost inside a former
Pan Am hanger; today a Fresh Market

Monday, January 4, 2010

sits on part of those grounds.
That history makes the company
unique, said Paul George, a local
historian who teaches at Miami Dade
College. “It’s just got this continuity
that few business in South Florida
have.” Only Burdine’s — opened in
Miami in 1898 and now part of Macy’s
— has operated in Miami longer.
Westbrook, a retired United Methodist minister, co-founded VITAS
Healthcare in 1976. He and his wife
sold their majority interest in February
2004 in a deal valued at $406 million
and 10 months later purchased
Merrill-Stevens.
Merrill-Stevens’ woes are sadly
common in South Florida’s marine
industry.
During the real estate boom,
marinas and other boat businesses
faced pressure to sell their land for
condo development, and states like
Georgia and North Carolina tried to
persuade companies to take their businesses and jobs to those lower-cost
states.
Since the economic downturn
began 2007, spending on luxury
items including boats has plummeted
as vessel owners found more urgent
needs for their money.
“Boats are purchased with discretionary income,” said Frank Herhold,
executive director of the Marine Industries Association of South Florida.
Customers have delayed repairs,
said Westbrook, making only those

too urgent to postpone. The owners
of two 150-foot vessels in storage —
each in need of $1 million in repairs —
decided to lay off the crews and wait,
he said.
The company faces additional
challenges, said Westbrook. MerrillStevens specializes in large yachts, up
to 155 feet. But many of its wealthy
customers now have yachts significantly longer.
“It’s an old yard,” Westbrook
said. “It has not had much capital
investment.”
A yacht brokerage and management branch the Westbrooks opened
after buying Merrill-Stevens was
closed more than a year ago.
As the economy brightens and the
boating industry picks up, Westbrook
hopes to expand the yard to handle
megayachts up to 250 feet, he said
— making it the only yard in South
Florida able to service yachts that size.
The tab: $12.5 million — and banks
won’t lend the money right now, Westbrook said.
So he is looking for private
investors.
“We are working with investment
bankers to explore some options to
expand the capacity of the yard,” said
Westbrook.
“South Florida is one of the
yachting capitals of the world,” he
said. “Merrill-Stevens has a worldwide reputation and has for a hundred
years.”

EDITOR’S NOTE

New girl on the bay
Although 2010 marked the become yet another thread in
end of a decade, it still brings the fabric.
forth a wealth of change,
In doing so, I hope to keep
advancement, and new possi- the student body informed
bilities for many of us – and I regarding serious issues, new
am no exception.
developments, and campus
The departure of
events that offer a
Pamela Duque as BBC
break from the daily
Managing Editor of BBC MANAGING grind of classes.
EDITOR
The Beacon opened
However, change
up the opportunity for
also comes with chalsomeone to fill her
lenges and, yet again, I
shoes.
am no exception.
To my delight – and
As I step into this
surprise – I have been
new role, a serious
chosen to fulfill this
question comes to
position.
JASMYN ELLIOTT mind: how can I not
First and foremost,
only maintain the
I am excited to be
quality of “At The
taking the reigns. As a jour- Bay” section but also, dare I
nalism student, this is a dream say, improve it?
come true, as I will be able to
This is where you, the
do what I love while gaining students, come in. If there are
the education I need to make it any campus issues or events
in a post-graduate world.
that need coverage in order to
Coming from MMC, I must inform the student body, or if
admit that BBC is brand new an article affected you in any
to me and I have yet to fully way, feel free to send in your
adjust to the much smaller questions and concerns.
(and much quieter) atmoSeveral schools of thought
sphere. Even so, I am looking are quick to say that traditional
forward to exploring the ins- newspaper journalism is dead.
and-outs of the campus.
In the case of The Beacon, I
I also hope to become better say that it’s alive and kicking
acquainted with my peers in and I will do my part to make
order to do them justice and sure that it stays that way.
-To contact me, send an emake our mark in their daily
mail
to jasmyn.elliott@fiusm.
lives. BBC is such a closecom.
knit community and I hope to

www.fiusm.com

AT THE BAY

Students hike No romance
to DC to fight without finance
for immigrants
SINGLE, page 4

LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
AP Wire
While their fellow college students recovered
from the night’s revelry, four South Floridians celebrated the New Year with a more active — and activist
— approach.
The group set out Friday to begin a 1,500 mile
journey they are calling the “Trail of Dreams,” from
Miami’s historic Freedom Tower to Washington, D.C.
The goal is to raise support for legislation that
would include a path to citizenship for eligible illegal
immigrants.
The four, all immigrants themselves, plan to walk
the entire distance, no matter the weather.
They expect students and other supporters to join
them along the way and plan to arrive in the capital
May 1, which has become a day of immigrant rights
rallies in recent years.
“I’m tired of coming back to school each semester
and hearing about another friend who was picked
up and deported,” Juan Rodriguez told a group of
supporters during a recent gathering.
An RV will follow them to ensure they have shelter
at night and a bathroom in remote locations, Rodriguez said.
The nonprofit Florida Immigrant Coalition is
helping with logistics.
Rodriguez said after years of keeping his struggles to himself, he recently got up the nerve to talk
about them with his mother, who stayed behind in
Colombia.
“Now I’m trying to convince her not to come. If
you don’t have to, then maybe you shouldn’t leave.
There’s value in staying in your country and helping to
improve it,” he said.
“I think sometimes I should go back to Colombia
and try to help there,” he said.
“But it’s not my country anymore. This is my
home. This is where I can help.”

more than me. After that we
ordered drinks and continued
to talk and laugh.
But when the check came,
fun time was over. The waitress handed him the bill and
he slid it across the table to
me.
“Wait a minute, I know he
doesn’t expect me to pay the
bill,” I thought to myself.
I would like to say that

Here’s a tip for
the future:
If you can’t
afford to
date... don’t.
I’m one of those women
who don’t mind paying on
the first date, I really would.
However, that would be a lie.
I do mind, so much so that I
didn’t bring any money with
me – a fact that I let him in
on.
“I’m confused, it looks
like you want me to pay,” I
said in a soft voice.
“I didn’t order anything
– why should I pay?” he
replied.
“You didn’t order anything
but you ate most of my food.
And besides, I don’t have any

money on me,” I said, very
annoyed.
“Well, why not?” he said,
raising his voice.
“Um, let me think. You
came up to me, asked me
for my phone number, called
me and asked me out on a
date. Gee, I don’t know why
I thought you were going to
pay,” I said sarcastically.
“If you knew you weren’t
going to pay, then why did
you order all of this expensive stuff? I can’t afford to
pay for this.”
“Expensive stuff”? What
was he talking about? The
bill was barely over $40,
and that included both of our
drinks.
I had enough.
“Here’s a tip for the future:
If you can’t afford to date…
don’t,” I said full of anger.
I got up, dropped my
napkin and marched right out
of the restaurant, leaving him
there with the bill. I might not
have had money with me but
I did have money at home,
so I walked to a nearby store
and called a cab.
After I made it home, I
took out my Blackberry and
deleted his number.
That‘s the thing about
dating: sometimes you win
and sometimes you lose.
That, my friends, is what I
call living the single life.
-Look for our new column
“Living Single” every other
Monday in At the Bay.

The Beacon – Monday, January 4, 2010

5

At The Bay asks:
What Is Your
New Years’ Resolution?
“I have to admit, I make the same
resolutions every year: to lose
weight, to be more organized and
to get my finances in order. But to
be honest, I never keep them past
mid year.”
-Cherie Pace, Fourth–Year
Graduate Student, Social Work

“This year will be a big milestone
for me. I graduate in the spring,
and I’ll be moving to a new state.
So my resolution is to start preparing for my future. I will be focusing
heavily on my career goals. I’m
excited about 2010; I think great
things are in store for me.”
-Susan Innocent, Senior, English

“I vow to put my best foot forward
in each and every one of my endeavours, whether that be in school,
a job, helping and being an inspiration to others, or getting my
name out and working toward my
dreams.”
-Stephanie Long, Sophomore,
Journalism

SGA to bring back the
marching band, but who is
really picking up the tab?
FIU’s marching band was cut in June of 2009
due the College of Arts and Sciences not being
able to fund their 65 percent, $237,000, share
used to run the band. The Student Government
Association, which had to fund 21 percent of
the budget, and the Athletics Department, who
was funding 14 percent, pulled their funding
due to budget cuts.
In the Spring of 2009, The Beacon editorial decided that though cutting the University’s marching band would be a difficult decision, it was a decision that needed to be made in
the midst of continuing economic and financial
downturn within the University. A marching
band can enhance school spirit at football
games, rousing the crowd to cheer for their
team. It’s a time-honored tradition throughout
the collegiate system.
Recently, University President Mark Rosenberg, Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Jessell
and SGC-MMC President Anthony Rionda
have discussed to bring back the band in 2010.
In a recent interview with The Beacon,
Rionda stated that between $125,000 to
$130,000 of the band’s funding will come from
students’ Activities and Services fees, and other
funding from “one-time pockets of money.”
Yet the manner in which student government
wishes to resurrect the now defunct marching
band is without simple common sense. At first
glance, this is a great move for student government, representing student interests and living
up to their original purpose. With the band
being brought back partially with “one-time
pockets of money,” what guarantee is there
that this source pool of money will be available
during the 2010-2011 fiscal year?
The next administration following Rionda’s will face a lot of angry students. Bringing
back a band under such precarious circumstances could let many students down if they
are unable to foot the bill next year or if they
choose not to. Rionda could potentially be
leaving the marching band funding as a burden
upon student governments back. In effect, this
move is nothing more than just a bandage
where stitches are needed.
Our athletics department, who has the
highest paid athletics director and head football
coach in the Sun Belt Conference, should aid
in the cause to bring back the marching band
– especially if student government is willing
to contribute so much of students’ money from
service fees and auxiliary funds from other
student events.
Students are already funding athletics
through an athletics fee of $14.51 per credit
hour per semester for full time students – the
second highest fee under tuition according to
a recently filed Notice of Amendment by the
Board of Trustees. Considering the large contribution by student finances, athletics should help
out with the return of the marching band.
In perspective, the marching band would
bring back more revenue to the Athletics Department before it would to the students: a good
incentive for the department. In an editorial
in November, The Beacon noted the disparity
between FIU and Troy during their game last
season at FIU Stadium. With no band to rouse
the team, a major part of the crowd-going experience was lost. With attendance dwindling at
games, Athletics is certainly looking to gain
interest through this move.
Student government however is not
protecting the student body’s interest in this
matter when Athletics is allowed to go off scottfree on what should be their obligation.

OPINION

Monday, January 4, 2010

www.fiusm.com

Cell phones don’t cause cancer
JUSTIN JANS
Contributing Writer
If there is one thing I never
leave my house without, it is my
cell phone. It’s the one thing that
I need to keep in contact with
friends and work. With the advent
of Internet capable phones, I can
manage my whole life from my
device.
But now, a Maine legislator is
proposing a warning label on cell
phones in her state, claiming that
the phones could possibly cause
cancer, similar to the warning on
a cigarette box.
MSNBC reported on Dec. 20,
2009 that Maine Representative
Andrea Boland was proposing this
legislation based on several scientific studies that she claimed indicate a high risk of cancer among
cell phone users.
Boland herself has a cell

phone, but turns it off unless she
is expecting a call. This is not
only counter-productive to having
a cell phone, but goes against the
main purpose of the device, which
is to allow people to contact you
within a moment’s notice.
The real question is simple. Is
there a link between cell phone
use and cancer risks?
According to a U.S. Food and
Drug Administration study used
by the National Cancer Institute,
“studies suggest that the amount
of RF energy produced by cellular
telephones is too low to produce
significant tissue heating or an
increase in body temperature.”
Many products and chemicals in the past were thought to
be safe until later studies proved
that they were harmful to people.
One of the most famous instances
of this is asbestos, which was a
main component of construction

material until studies found that it
caused cancer in people who were
exposed to it.
We cannot rule out the possibility that this may happen with
cell phones. Long-term effects
have yet to be fully examined.
If indeed cell phone devices are
proven to be harmful to our health,
we are in for a big reality check.
Scientists in Scandinavia
conducted a 30-year longitudinal
study of cell phone usage and
any possible links to cancer. The
subjects were the adult population
of 16 million people from three
countries, and they only detected
a small percentage of people with
brain cancer, (although not above
the normal percentage of people
with brain cancer). If there was
a risk of cancer, that study most
definitely would have proved
something.
Since their introduction to the

market in the 1980s, these devices
have gained massive popularity.
Nowadays, almost everyone has
one – even 10-year olds have
gained the privilege that was once
exclusive to the corporate elite. If
they were indeed harmful, there
would have already been overwhelming evidence against them.
Instead there are only myths and
stories, some of which may be
pure coincidence.
One example of alleged
evidence on the harmful effects
of cell phone use involves OJ
Simpson’s former lawyer, Johnny
Cochran. He died of a brain tumor,
which was supposedly located on
the side of his head that he put the
cell phone to. This could just be a
coincidence. There are two sides
of the head, hence there is a 50
percent chance that it would be
on the side he was accustomed to
putting the cell phone on.

SAY WHAT?!: A Maine legislator wants to put a cancer warning label on cell phone boxes sold in the state. Thoughts?
“It is just an old-wives tale. If it
is not proven that cell phones
give cancer, why put a warning
label on it? It may just cause
people to panic needlessly.

“It can’t really hurt to put these
labels on the boxes. In the end,
people will ignore the labels
because they will still use their
cell phones. That’s the way our
generation has adapted.”
Chris Rodriguez,
Junior, Criminal Justice

Maite Morales
Junior, English

This is ridiculous. Then they
should also put a label on other
items like microwaves, which
are also proven to mess with
pacemakers.

“Cell phones have been
around since the 1980s. Cell
phones have supposedly been
improved with better technology. Why are we caring about
possible cancer risks now?”
Michael Garrote
Sophomore, Biomedical Engineering

Amaris Mier,
Junior, International Relations

THE SOAPBOX

Haitians face discrimination by U.S.
JUSTIN CRAMER
JULIAN GERACI
LASHAWN THOMAS
Special to The Beacon
As the torrential winds and
pounding rainstorms of the
Atlantic hurricane season subside,
Haitians realize that the real threat
of devastation this year came, in
the end, in the form of the United
States’ discriminatory immigration policy.
In 2008, storms devastated
the nation, claiming the lives of
hundreds and leaving thousands
homeless. During the last election, President Obama promised
change and hope, and specifically
pledged to address the immigration issues facing Haitians. A year
later, Haitians continue to starve
because the storms of 2008 decimated the agriculture and livestock Haitians rely on to live.
In 1998, following the devas-

EDITORIAL POLICY
Editorials are the unified voice
of the editorial board, which
is composed of the editor in
chief, management, and the
editors of each of the five sections. The Beacon welcomes
any letters regarding or in
response to its editorials, send
them to opinion@fiusm.com

tation of Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua and Honduras, the Temporary Protected Status was established. Honduran and Nicaraguan nationals who were living
in the U.S. at the time the suspension of deportation were allowed
to temporarily remain in the U.S,
rather than forcing them to return
to the inhumane conditions that
existed in their home countries.
It also allowed these nationals to
work legally in the U.S. and send
money to their families in their
home nations.
Haitians have endured devastation of equal magnitude to that
experienced in Honduras and
Nicaragua, yet Haiti was continuously denied TPS by the Bush
administration. Although the
Obama administration promised change, the mere promise of
hope does not feed the starving,
nor cure the sick. Without real
change and hope in the form of

TPS, Haitians are faced with a
daunting prospect: return to a
country devastated by natural
disaster, or remain in the United
States, unable to work legally.
Opponents of TPS argue that
by granting TPS to Haitians,
the U.S. will provoke a massive
emigration from Haiti. This argument is groundless. Similar to the
restrictions placed on the deportation relief granted to Honduras
and Nicaragua, only persons who
are already living within the U.S.
will qualify for TPS. The cutoff
date is the day that TPS is granted.
This means that if TPS is granted
on Dec. 1, a Haitian arriving to
the U.S. on Dec. 2 would not
qualify and would be deported if
apprehended. The TPS cutoff date
provides protection against a mass
exodus from Haiti to the U.S.
In early December 2009, two
groups of Haitians – one in the
United States, and one in Haiti

QUOTATIONATION

WINNERLOSER
James Cameron, director of
“Avatar,” with a budget of over
$200 million and 12 years of
preparation made a film that
is being hailed by many as
ground breaking in its special
effects, though his writing
abilities are still questionable.

– sued the Obama administration in an international tribunal,
the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights. We are their
lawyers, students and faculty at
the FIU College of Law.
Our clients represent thousands of aggrieved Haitians, on
both sides of the Florida Straits,
who have been harmed by the
U.S.’s discriminatory immigration policy toward Haitians, which
violates binding commitments that
the U.S. has made under international treaties. By drawing attention to the latest example of the
U.S.’ disregard for its responsibilities to the international community, our clients hope to pressure
the Obama administration into
granting TPS to Haiti, providing
Haitians the relief they desperately need.
Justin Cramer, Julian Geraci
and Lashawn Thomas are students
at the College of Law.

ChildAbuseWatch.net is
attacking organizers of the
Super Bowl for having The
Who performing during
the halftime show. This is in
response to The Who member
Peter Townsend’s arrest in
2003 for possessing child
pornography.

“Hey, it’s Tiger. I need you to do
me a huge favor. Can you please,
take my name off your phone. My
wife went through my phone.
Tiger Woods to one of his mistresses.

LIFE!

Contact Us
Ashlyn Toledo
Life! Editor
ashlyn.toledo@fiusm.com

The Beacon – 7

want better versions of
ourselves and resolutions are
the easiest way to promise
ourselves we can get there.
This is the perfect year – a new
year, a new you. You’ve said
it to yourself a bunch of times
in years past, but what is it
exactly about New Year’s resolutions that are so intriguing to
others?
“It’s free motivation, in a
sense. With a new year comes
the possibility of change. I
guess it’s a carpe diem sort
of thing. People want to get
things started off with a bang
so that the rest of the year will
proceed smoothly,” Paz said.
Eric Murias, a graduate
student majoring in nutrition and a New Year’s resolution skeptic, explains that
New Year’s resolutions don’t
work because “the idea of a
New Year’s resolution [means]
people can have a fresh start
when they usually don’t even
follow up on it.”
Murias pokes fun at one of
the more popular resolutions,
weight loss.
“People use New Year’s
as a way to promise themselves that they are going to
start going to the gym when
you can just start going to the
gym in the middle of the year.
You don’t need New Year’s for
that,” he said.
“I think New Year’s resolutions are intriguing because
it gives people something, a
goal, to dream about reaching.
It’s great to have a big goal and
think that you have a whole

year to get there,” Morales
added.
Unfortunately, for the optimistic resolution makers, by the
end of February the majority
of resolutions burn out quicker
than they were thought up.
According
to
Marcell
Gonzalez, a junior majoring in
business, the reason is simple.
“People don’t really want
to make New Year’s resolutions, they just get thrown into
a tradition they really don’t
care about so they don’t keep
it,” Gonzalez said.
New Year’s resolutions are
no joke. If you want them to
work, you need to put some
effort into it.
“It’s really easy to say you
want something, but it takes
effort to actually achieve it.
All things worth-while require
work. It’s hard. People just get
disheartened too easily and
give up at the first sign of an
obstacle. Drive is essential,”
Paz said.
If you’re thinking of making
a resolution this year, setting
your sights on a realistic goal
and making a plan for reaching
it is a good way to start.
“People sometimes make
resolutions that are not realistic or take longer than a year,
so, they get anxious to accomplish them and end up giving
up,” Morales said.
To prevent that, she suggests
making the same resolution
every year.
“An aunt of mine used to
make the same one every year
so she wouldn’t quit it.”

Nicholas Khouri

It’s that time of the year
again where we pop out the
champagne (sparkling cider
for those under 21), count our
12 grapes, kiss the one we
wish to be with forever and
hope for the best with the turn
of the year. With this hope lies
the tradition of New Year’s
resolutions.
New Year’s resolutions
are commitments one makes
to improve themselves with
the new year and are advantageous to themselves and,
usually, others too. Some of
the more popular resolutions
involve health or careers. For
FIU
students,
they often

involve staying on track in
school and bettering grades.
“My New Year’s resolution is to continue doing well
in school. It’s pretty simple but
that gives me a sort of guarantee that I will be able to
keep it,” said Maite Morales, a
junior majoring in English.
Kathelyn Paz, a sophomore
double majoring in English
and journalism, has a more
reflective resolution for the
new year.
“My resolution is to let go
of who I was and fully embrace
the person I’ve become. I want
to put behind all the petty
things that have happened with
people and accept that things
change. Only time will tell if
it’s for the better,”
she said.
W e
a l l

“I would like to graduate by the
end of the semester and hopefully
find a job.”
– Senior, Liberal Studies

Douglas Wartzok

A new year means hoping for change

Everyone wants
something ...

“My New Year’s resolution is
that we have a successful SACS
reaccreditation site visit for FIU
this year.”
-– FIU Interim Provost

Will Ferrell

Resolution Solution
ADRIANA RODRIGUEZ
Staff Writer

Monday, January 4, 2010

www.fiusm.com

“My New Year’s resolution is to get
at least 13 hours of sleep a night,
regardless of what sort of job or family or life commitments I have ...”
– Actor

No need to wake up early; end-of-the-year sales not as big as in the past
AMANDA BATCHELOR
Staff Writer
Every year, people wake up early on the
day after Christmas to make it to the stores
by 5 a.m. for those after Christmas sales.
This year, perhaps due to the economy, the
sales were not all worth waking up early
for.
Most retail stores had sales from around
25 to 40 percent off for the entire Christmas
season.
Many of the sales that started the day after
Thanksgiving continued for the remainder
of the season, and very few stores this year
had sales as high as 75 percent off.
Some of the best sales were found at
stores like Aeropostale, Bath and Body
Works and Best Buy where I bought a GPS
for about $70 off.
The day after Christmas, most stores
just had sales on their Christmas goods.
But, surprisingly, most stores were only

taking 50 percent off when, in past years,
it was common to see discounts on holiday
merchandise as high as 75 percent off.
This could be a sign of retail stores
hurting because of the economy, leaving
retailers unable to offer steeper discounts.
However, Tatiana Kulhanjian, a sophomore and business major, did find some
stores that had decent sales.
“I went to Macy’s on Dec. 26 and they
had awesome sales,” Kulhanjian said. “A
lot of items were 50 percent off and then
the cashiers would give [an additional] $25
off if you bought stuff worth $100 or more
so they would try to help you save even
more.”
I was one of those people at the stores
starting at 5 a.m. at JCPenney’s to see what
sales I could find and they had barely any
Christmas items left.
They did have sales on some of their
other merchandise like luggage, clothing
and shoes but the sales just didn’t compare

to any of their Black Friday sales.
Pier One Imports had a large amount of
Christmas decor left over, most of it was
50 percent off or more. They also had sales
on some of their everyday items such as
candles.
“Walmart, Target and Kmart had the
best deals on Christmas decor the day after
Christmas,” said Ashleigh Nguyen, a senior
and international business major. “You
could find items from 75 percent off and
up such as lights, wrapping paper and fake
Christmas trees. It’s a great time to stock up
on Christmas goods for next year.”
But not everyone was looking for just
Christmas decor sales right after Christmas.
Some of those people who wait around late
to give gifts to those they are seeing after
the holidays were looking for sales on gifts
as well.
Kevin Rojas, a junior and criminal
justice major was looking for gifts for some
of the women in his life.

“Coach had really good deals with 20
percent off of their purses, but the worst
deal I got stuck with was buying a friend
a Juicy Couture bag for $200 and some
change,” Rojas said.
Whatever the case may be, stores are
definitely not offering some of the great
sales they have offered in past years. So
this year, in order to find a great deal, you
may just have to dig around in the malls
some more. Consumers, however, seem to
be happy finding any sales they can get.
What some of us can look forward to is
that most stores’ sales are continuing until
right after New Year’s, such as Victorias
Secret’s semi-annual sale.
Also, for those who still haven’t made
it to the store to exchange that frumpy
sweater or whatever gifts you may not
have liked, most stores are prolonging
their return policy so you have until right
after New Year’s to finish your returns and
exchanges.

8

The Beacon – Monday, January 4, 2010

www.fiusm.com

LIFE!

Monsters, magic to make
Indie
artists
ready
to
fi
ll
appearances at WoW
2010 with new sounds
EXPLODING HEAD

WOW, page 1

the many activities featured for free, with a
Panther ID.”
WoW is not a tradition unique to FIU.
“Week of Welcome is a tradition for many
universities across the nation. It is a way to raise
school spirit, have students become engaged
on campus and bring life to the university,”
Rodriguez said.
The events are pulled off with the help of
the National Association for Campus Activities. NACA provides SPC-MMC with the
entertainment resources needed to pull off such
events.
Vice President of External Affairs for SPCMMC, Ana Casas, a senior public relations
major, says SPC-MMC wants to make sure
they touch base with all of the student body’s
needs and wants with their events.
“We chose our events to make sure that we
reach as much of the student body as possible.
We surveyed the students last semester and are
programming to fit their requests. After all, our
main goal is to please as much of the student
body as possible,” she said.
This semester, the committee has chosen
to bring a mechanical bull-riding event to

Mike Super

take place in the GC pit on Jan. 5, a magic
show performed by NBC’s “Phenomenon”
winner, Mike Super, on Jan. 6 and, to finish
off the week, a screening of the animated film
Monsters vs. Aliens on Jan. 8.
Super’s show will take place in the GC
Ballrooms and Rodriguez says the show is
sure to “take [FIU students’] minds on a mini
getaway.”
The committee chose a family friendly
movie for Friday night’s screening to assure
out-of-town families still in town that they, too,
are welcome at WoW. Rodriguez does note that
priority goes to students with an FIU ID.
The film will play in GC 140, Jan. 8 with
showings at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Week of Welcome in Spring is significantly
less action-packed than Fall’s, but Casas promises that the events will not disappoint.
“WoW is an opportunity to get the students
excited about school again and build school
pride. We understand that the spring WoW
is not as big as the fall one, but we still want
to make it something that students can look
forward to,” she said.
SPC-MMC’s job does not end with WoW.
The committee promises to uphold its reputation of providing students with new and entertaining events that appeal to
everyone and their tight
college budgets.
“Students can expect
bigger events, more movies,
new comedy acts, an
awesome spring concert
along with lots of giveaways that are all free for
FIU students,” said Patricia
Flor, junior finance major
and marketing coordinator
for SPC-MMC.
Rodriguez adds that they
will keep staple events like
comedy shows and movie
screenings and their most
popular event, UP-Roar. She
says to keep a look out for the
Dating Doctor in February in
honor of Valentine’s and the
big name concert reveal in
March.

Sadly, 2009 is long gone and memo- band to keep an eye on because there’s no
ries of the year can only be seen through denying how catchy the quartet is.
old blog posts. But, judging 2009 based
They’ve leaked two songs from
on indie music releases and trends
the album: “Horchata” and
alone, I would say it was a more
“Cousins.” “Horchata,” named
COLUMNIST
than a decent way to end the “decade
after the Mexican, rice-based
from hell.”
beverage, is a little boring
Animal Collective released its
and a step down for VW. But
most accessible album to date with
“Cousins” sounds like a bona
a companion EP to top it off. Bands
fide Vampire Weekend-oriented
like Real Estate, Julian Lynch and
punk song.
Ducktails emerged onto the scene to
Multi-instrumentalist Chaz
RYAN MOREJON
create a new wave of droney, lo-fi.
Bundick, aka Toro Y Moi, has
The year proved to be the hallbeen on the blog radar for the
mark of genre-labeling with the birth of the past year now. His Blessa 7-inch painted
blog-created “glo-fi” pinned to groups like a nice portrait of R&B and psychedelic
Neon Indian, Washed Out and Delorean. harmonies similar to the likes of Aaliyah
And, of course, the sudden late fascina- and Panda Bear, respectively. His fulltion with southern rap remixes by abstract length debut, Causers of This, is set to
electronic musicians – i.e. Salem and Diplo release in late February off of Carpark
remixes of Gucci Mane, the ATL RMX records.
mixtape release.
After making a huge impression at CMJ
So what can we expect from 2010?
Music Marathon in New York late last
Baltimore-bred Beach House will year, South Florida natives Surfer Blood
release its third album, Teen Dream, in will release their full-length debut, Astro
late January from their new label Sub Pop. Coast, off of Kanine Records. Formerly
Beach House has already leaked the song known as Jabroni Sandwich, the best band
“Norway” from the album, and judging name ever, Surfer Blood intend on touring
from the tune, the band has moved toward more this spring, even making an appearmore expansive sounds.
ance at South By Southwest. Their sound,
Beach House’s first self-titled album a mix of surf rock and power afro-pop, has
and second album, Devotion, had them been well-received. The album should be
crafting tuneful, slow pop songs with out mid January.
minimal synth and guitar arrangements.
Dum Dum Girls, a band essentially run
Teen Dream sounds like it will be more by just one girl, Dee Dee, blends girl-band
cacophonous and maximal. Even Grizzly edge and distortion-heavy garage rock to
Bear lead singer and Beach House friend, make something that sounds like a noisy,
Ed Droste, has given the album a stamp punked-out version of The Go-Go’s. DDG
of approval since his Twitter days. So it started about a year ago, believe it or not,
should be something to look forward to.
and have already been signed to Sub Pop
Those dapper Columbia grads Vampire Records. Judging from the Longhair 7Weekend will release their sophomore inch and the Yours Alone 12-inch EP from
effort, Contra, in a couple of weeks. Based yesteryear, DDG are a supremely promon the title alone, I figured they were either ising band. They’ve played only a couple
moving in a video game, 8-bit synth-elec- of live shows, but they’ve already covered
tronic direction, or they were applying more The Misfits, so I think they’re standing on
Spanish-based percussion into the mix. good ground right now. Their debut album,
Either way, Vampire Weekend is always a I Will Be, will be released late March.

Big name sequels dominate 2010’s game releases
ASHLYN TOLEDO
Life! Editor
With dozens of new titles on the way, in
2010, including blockbuster sequels and promising new IPs, it’s going to be tough to find
enough money and time to play them all. These
are a look at some of the most anticipated titles
on the way to help you plan ahead.
MASS EFFECT 2 - XBOX 360 (JAN. 26)
RPG fans poured countless hours into the
first Mass Effect title. With an upgraded combat
system, improved AI and new alien races, I
don’t see how BioWare could disappoint.
MAG - PLAYSTATION 3 (JAN. 2)
Zipper Interactive’s Massive Action Game
will live up to its name in the form of online
matches where up to 256 players compete on
a single map in objective-based matches. Aside
from these massive battles, The game’s main

campaign boasts an 8-player cooperative mode
with customizable characters and an in-depth
leveling system.
SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION - XBOX
360, PC (FEB. 23)
Ubisoft is looking to reinvent the Splinter
Cell franchise with its fifth installment. A
powerful story line and an exciting new co-op
mode will hopefully make this one of, if not the
best game in the series to date.
FINAL FANTASY XIII - PLAYSTATION 3,
XBOX 360 (MARCH 9)
The next numbered installment in the Square
Enix’s famed Final Fantasy series takes place in
the visually stunning cityworld of Cocoon and
the outerworld of Pulse. The updated Active
Time Battle System and in-game cinematics
should keep Final Fantasy at the top of the roleplaying pack for years to come.

GOD OF WAR III - PLAYSTATION 3
(MARCH)
The epic finale of Sony Computer Entertainment’s best-selling hack-and-slash action
game has stirred up a lot of hype already.
There’s almost no chance that this game will
flop, especially after seeing the awe-inspiring
trailer released at last year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.
STARCRAFT II - PC (TBA, 2010)
In keeping with Blizzard’s reputation for delaying games until they
are absolutely perfect, Starcraft II has
already been delayed several times.
The game was announced in may of
2007 and is currently set to release
some time this year. There’s no doubt
in my mind that, when it finally does
release, it will be a perfectly balanced,
real time strategy experience.

THE LAST GUARDIAN - PLAYSTATION 3
(TBA 2010)
The trailers for Team ICO’s third game
are some of the most graphically impressive
things i’ve seen. The group’s latest effort will
likely bring more of the heartfelt story-telling
seen in previous titles, Ico and Shadow of the
Colossus, as the story of a young boy and his
gigantic, furry guardian unfold.

Final Fantasy XIII

TV favorites return with spring’s premieres lineup
LEONCIO ALVAREZ
Staff Writer
The Internet has actually made
watching television easier than
sitting on your couch and reaching
over for the remote. Think about it.
Anything from “Are You Afraid of
the Dark?” to “Family Guy” can be
found as long as you know where
to go. This is why it’s so easy to
catch your favorites nowadays,
making no excuse to miss the great
shows starting back up this spring.
BURN NOTICE
Not a lot of shows are so action-

packed that they can have a midseason finale and come back in a
couple months. “Burn Notice” is
one of those shows that really has
no limits. The USA Network will
finish off its third season starting
Jan. 22 and some fans are still on
the edge of their seats from how it
ended. That’s right, five months on
the edge of your seat equals one
really good show.
LOST
This story has become way
more than just the stranded and the
island. ABC’s “Lost” is set to make
a reappearance for its final season

on Feb. 2 with a two-hour opener.
All the confusing time warping
and disappearing acts aside, “Lost”
is an intense show that epitomizes
suspense. The finale of this one
should be one to remember.
NURSE JACKIE
Showtime’s dark yet extremely
funny “Nurse Jackie” returns
March 22. The show follows
an extraordinarily hectic, workobsessed Jackie (Edie Falco from
“The Sopranos”) who is living
a life full of love, lies and drugs
... more emphasis on the latter. If
you’ve been following the drama

and shenanigans happening in this
emergency room you probably
think “Grey’s Anatomy” is simply
just a difficult textbook.
PARTY DOWN
Starz is mostly known for
playing classic movies, but lately
it has been airing a slew of original
programs meant to give competing
networks a run for their money.
One of these shows, “Party
Down” revolves around a cast
of crazy caterers who make any
party a blast. Without Jane Lynch,
who left the show for her role on
“Glee,” the show suffered a bit

toward the end of season one.
But Megan Mullally’s (“Will and
Grace”) addition is sure to fix the
harm done by her departure. Rob
Thomas and Paul Rudd, creators of
this comedy, will be bringing back
this party favor in April.
There are plenty of shows set to
glue you to a screen this new year.
On Jan.14, “Project Runway’s”
second time around on Lifetime
will begin as well as “30 Rock”
on NBC. Fox’s “24” brings daily
action on Jan.17 with a two-night
premiere and “Damages” on FX
makes a triumphant return on Jan.
25.

10

The Beacon – Monday, January 4, 2010

www.fiusm.com

SPORTS

Virginia Tech comes up big to end the season
CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Almost
four months after opening its
season with a loss to a Southeastern Conference team at the
Georgia Dome, Virginia Tech
returned to show how much it had
improved.
The Hokies also showed they’ll
be a team to watch in 2010.
Ryan Williams capped a brilliant first season with a recordsetting game, running for two
touchdowns to power the Hokies
past Tennessee 37-14 in the
Chick-fil-A Bowl on Thursday
night.
More than one Virginia Tech
player mentioned the team’s 3424 loss to Alabama on Sept. 5.
“We started the season here,
and we wanted to finish it strong
here,” Williams said.
Added receiver Danny Coale:
“I was happy to get another
chance at the SEC. We wanted to
come out and prove something.
It was very important that we
got another chance on a national
stage.”
Quarterback Tyron Taylor
completed 10 of 17 passes for
209 yards and ran for a touchdown, and Josh Oglesby and
David Wilson combined for 67
yards rushing and a touchdown.
Jarrett Boykin caught four passes
for 120 yards.
All the playmakers are expected
back next season. Virginia Tech
coach Frank Beamer couldn’t
hide his excitement about the
Hokies’ future.
“We’ve got some guys we’re
proud of,” Beamer said.
The Hokies (10-3) took the
lead with a field goal in the final
seconds of the first half and
outscored Tennessee 20-0 in the
second half on their way to a
sixth straight 10-win season.

The only team with a longer
active streak is Texas with nine.
Williams, a redshirt freshman,
had 117 yards rushing to become
Virginia Tech’s single-season
leader with 1,655 yards. Williams
also set ACC records with 21
rushing touchdowns and 22 total
touchdowns this season.
“I just saw green,” he said.
“When I see green, I take advantage of it.”
The
Hokies
outrushed
Tennessee 229-5.
“Ryan was something tonight,
particularly at the start of the
second half,” Beamer said. “We
got after them good.”
Tennessee’s star running back,
Montario Hardesty, could not
keep up. The senior had 18 carries
for 39 yards and a touchdown.
“We got gassed, we got tired,”
said Tennessee defensive end
Chris Walker. “You could tell
especially on defense we weren’t
making plays. ... Ryan Williams
is a really great player.”
Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton was taken to a
hospital after the game because
of an undisclosed injury late in
the game, a school spokesman
said. He wasn’t the only loss for
the Vols; junior safety Eric Berry
confirmed afterward that he will
enter the NFL draft.
Tennessee (7-6) was hurt
by two turnovers that led to 10
points for Virginia Tech, and a
dropped pass that cost the Vols a
touchdown.
“For whatever reason, we
didn’t play well today,” Tennessee
coach Lane Kiffin said. “I was
surprised we weren’t able to run
the ball better.”
Rashad Carmichael intercepted a pass by Crompton in the
first quarter to set up Williams’
first TD run. Crompton fumbled
when sacked by Nekos Brown late
in the fourth quarter. John Graves

recovered at the Tennessee 13 to
set up Matt Waldron’s third field
goal, a 22-yarder.
Virginia Tech players dumped
a cooler of water on Beamer
seconds later. Virginia Tech fans
in the sellout crowd of 73,777
cheered, and Beamer raised his
fists in response. The Hokies,
who won the Orange Bowl last
season, have back-to-back bowl
wins for the first time.
Williams sat out the fourth
quarter with a left ankle sprain.
Beamer gave the fourth-quarter
carries to Oglesby and Wilson,
who had a 3-yard touchdown run
with 5:14 remaining.
Williams passed Kevin Jones’
school-record record of 1,647
yards rushing set in 2003.
North
Carolina’s
Don
McCauley held the ACC records
with 19 rushing touchdowns and
21 total in 1970. Clemson’s C.J.
Spiller matched the total touchdown mark this season. Georgia
Tech’s Robert Lavette also rushed
for 19 touchdowns in 1982.
Williams was voted the game’s
most outstanding player.
Waldron, who had a 21-yard
field goal at the end of the first
half, added a 46-yarder — the
longest of his career — to push
the lead to 27-14 early in the
fourth quarter.
Tennessee’s had a chance to
get back into it, but Denarius
Moore dropped a deep pass from
Crompton on the Vols’ next drive.
Kiffin said the play “really took
the wind out of our sails.”
Crompton was 15 of 26 for
235 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception.
Williams had two short touchdown runs to give the Hokies a
14-0 lead in the second quarter,
then Hardesty ran through 301pound defensive tackle Cordarrow
Thompson for a 4-yard score that
capped an 80-yard drive.

PHOTO COURTESY: ASSOCIATED PRESS

JOY: Virginia Tech’s Cam Martin celebrates with his team as he lifts the
Chick-fil-A bowl trophy. The Hokies finished the season with 10 wins.
Janzen Jackson’s interception set up Crompton’s 2-yard
touchdown pass to Moore with
18 seconds remaining in the first
half.
Instead of running out the
clock, Taylor threw from his 33 to
Boykin, who was stopped inside
the Vols 5 as the clock apparently expired. Tennessee players
left the field but were summoned

back as a video review showed
Boykin’s knee hit the ground with
2 seconds remaining.
Waldron’s field goal gave
Virginia Tech a 17-14 halftime
lead.
“That was a big play, no question,” Beamer said. “The (Vols)
were thinking they were going
in tied up but all of a sudden we
were leading.”

Roberts drops 29
Buddy scores 13 in reserve; against the Jaguars

Smith leads USA with 16
WOMEN’S, page 12
us, particularly in the first half when we didn’t
score for a stretch,” USA head coach Rick Pietri
told usajaguars.com. “They really responded late
in the half to send us in tied. I couldn’t be more
proud of our kids, because FIU is a good basket-

ball team.”
The Jaguars were able to maintain their
momentum and FIU came no closer than five
points the rest of the game.
“There’s always space to get better, but [each
game] we are getting better. The chemistry is
getting better,” Gonzalez said.

Companies hope to settle the
quarrels that led to standoff
SINCLAIR, page 11
systems for about five weeks in
early 2007. The current agreement
had been reached just two days
before that year’s Super Bowl.
Federal
Communications
Commission Chairman Julius
Genachowski commended the
companies for reaching an
agreement.

“This extension ... will avert
the frustration that Mediacom
customers would have experienced if Sinclair stations had
ceased to be available over Mediacom systems,” Genachowski said
in a statement Thursday.
He said he hopes the companies use the extension time to
settle their differences.
Traditionally the networks paid

affiliates to broadcast their shows,
though those fees have shrunken
to almost nothing as local stations
have seen their audience numbers
fall.
Because of a fractured audience and dwindling dollars from
advertising, broadcasters nationwide have accelerated their
push for new revenue to pay for
programming.

MEN’S, page 11
shot clock down to about 10 to
five seconds on each possession
throughout the first half, even
receiving a couple of shot clock
violations.
“Our shot selection in the first
half was poor,” said Thomas.
“Most of the time when you work
the ball around, the defending team
will have a breakdown in that short
period of time that you moved the
ball.”
Tim Williams led South
Alabama with 18 points, followed
by forward Martino Brock who had
15 points. Coming off the bench,
center Gary Redus had 6 blocks.
Antoine Watson and Martavis
Kee chipped in with 7 points each
for FIU while Roberts led the
team with a career-high 29 points
shooting 10-for-21 on the night.
He was the only Golden Panther to
reach double figures.
“I was just feeling it,” Roberts
said.
With one more point, Roberts
would have been the first player to

score 30 points since Alex Galindo
in 2008.
FIU is 1-2 in the Sun Belt
Conference with 15 games left,
all against conference opponents.
The Golden Panthers play eight
of them at the U.S. Century Bank
Arena in Miami where the team is
2-3 this season.
Thomas had a more up-tempo
attitude in the loss against South
Alabama, compared to the previous
home games played. Early in the
first half many of the FIU players
were holding light conversations
with the officials, when Thomas
roared out of his seat and yelled at
his players to stop talking.
“I’m trying to get my guys
ready for conference play,”
Thomas said.
A win over South Alabama
could have been a turnaround for
the Golden Panthers considering
that South Alabama is leading the
Sun Belt Conference and just came
off an impressive win against the
No. 18 ranked Florida Gators.
“This loss just really hurts,”
Coach Thomas said.

www.fiusm.com

The Beacon – Monday, January 4, 2010

SPORTS

11

Agreement
is
reached
Undersized men’s team
struggles on home court to avoid blackouts
MEN’S BASKETBALL

NIGEL DUARA
Associated Press Writer

JOEY CRUZ
Staff Writer
When facing the obstacle of being undersized in almost every game, the FIU men’s
basketball team must conquer the turnover
battle and shoot a high percentage from the
three-point line to help balance their lack of
presence in the post.
“It’s not them playing a certain defense,
we’re doing this to ourselves,” said FIU
forward Marvin Roberts.
Three-point shooting has been a major
struggle for the undersized Golden Panthers,
who have a 26 percent three-point field goal
percentage this season.
In FIU’s 71-59 loss to conference rival
South Alabama on Dec. 31, the Golden
Panthers were unable to secure the ball as
the Jaguars scored 25 points off 19 FIU
turnovers.
“Our inability to take care of the basketball really killed us,” said head coach Isiah
Thomas. “This is definitely a tough loss for
me to swallow.”
The first half included 11 Golden
Panthers turnovers, which transitioned
South Alabama’s 18-point swing midway
through the first half making it difficult for
FIU to rally back after giving up a 31-16
halftime lead.
“We didn’t really have a chance to plan
our home court,” said Thomas. “We came off

VICTORIA LYNCH/BEACON FILE PHOTO

GO HARD: Stephon Weaver looks to score
at the rim in a game earlier this season
against Murray State.
a long road game stretch and couldn’t practice in the arena due to other tournaments.”
The struggles from the three-point line
did not stop against the Jaguars. FIU shot a
mere 35 percent from beyond the arc.
The Golden Panthers were working the
MEN’S, page 10

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Football fans
will be able to watch college bowl games
on Sinclair stations after all, as the broadcaster and the Mediacom cable TV operator
agreed to extend by eight days their negotiations over fees.
Sinclair Broadcasting Group is seeking
higher rates from Mediacom Communications Corp. to carry its stations. The deadline was extended from midnight Thursday
to midnight Jan. 8. During the extension,
Mediacom will pay Sinclair a higher rate
than it was paying under the contract that
expires Thursday.
That means the Orange Bowl game
between Iowa and Georgia Tech won’t be
blacked out Tuesday. Other high-profile
contests, such as the BCS national championship game next Thursday, had also been
in danger of not being shown to Mediacom
subscribers.
“We recognize that several of the
impacted markets have college teams that
will be playing in the BCS Bowl games,”
Sinclair spokesman Barry Faber said
in a release. “We thought it was important to ensure that our viewers had the
opportunity to see those games without
inconvenience.”
About 700,000 Mediacom subscribers
in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,

Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri,
Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin were at
risk of losing Sinclair programming.
The temporary Sinclair-Mediacom
deal came as Time Warner Cable Inc. and
Bright House Networks remained locked
in a bitter dispute with News Corp. over
similar fees for carrying the Fox television
network and some of the cable channels
that News Corp. also owns. That agreement
was to expire at midnight Thursday, but the
network struck a deal with Time Warner to
extend the contract for a few hours, making
it appear likely that a deal on fees would
be reached.
Despite the Sinclair-Mediacom extension, feelings haven’t warmed between
the two sides. Faber said Mediacom hasn’t
been dealing fairly with Sinclair.
“It has been unfortunate that Mediacom
has refused to pay fair compensation for
our programming, which is much less than
what they pay cable channels with far less
viewers,” Faber said in the release.
Tom Larsen, Mediacom’s vice president
of legal and public affairs, responded that
the comparison was not applicable because
cable channels generate far less revenue
than broadcast stations.
This is the second time the two companies have been locked in a standoff. Sinclair
stations were pulled from Mediacom
SINCLAIR, page 10

Rodgers’ infectious enthusiasm helps Golden Panthers
RODGERS, page 12
“I never looked at it as a downfall. It gave me a whole extra
year to work on my game,” said
Rodgers. “It gave me time to add
weapons to my arsenal.”
According to teammate Cherisse Buddy, Rodgers almost
immediately became a significant
leader for the team even though
she was usually on the sideline.
Whether it is motivating
players or just making people
smile with her singing and
dancing, she always seems to be
making an impact.
“She’s always dancing. She’s
the one that got us to do our ‘prehype’ before the games and she
started our warm-up routine,”
Buddy said. “She’s definitely
the funniest person on the team.
She’s very enthusiastic. She’s
the one that gets us hyped before
every game.”
“I just can’t help it sometimes,” said Rodgers. “I just basically took everyone under my
wing.”
In her first game on Dec. 20,
2009, the sophomore came off
the bench to score a team-high 16

points during a road win against
North Texas.
“I can’t say enough about
Rakia,” said head coach Cindy
Russo in a previous interview.
“The level changes when she’s out
on that court, she is very intense.
She’s one of the best athletes I
have ever worked with.”
Rodgers’ first game wasn’t
just a lucky debut.
In the next game, she showed
her consistency by again scoring
16 points off the bench in a loss
at home to Florida Gulf Coast on
Dec. 22.
Since then the offensive threat
has continued to show her ability,
and has now recorded four
straight games in double figures,
including a career-high 18 points
during a home loss against
Georgia Tech just last week.
Rodgers has become a sparkplug in reserve for the Golden
Panthers, who rank seventh in
the Sun Belt Conference in team
scoring. Rodgers has also added
another shooter from beyond the
arc for FIU, stroking seven 3pointers in four games.
Although they might not be

2007

2009

COURTESY OF GOHOFSTRA.COM

COURTESY OF FIUSPORTS.COM

CHANGING PLACES: Rodgers, a former Colonial Athletic Conference’s All-Rookie Team member, has
pleased her new coach. “The level changes when she’s out on that court, she’s very intense,” Russo said.
attainable this season and it won’t
be easy, Rodgers has set goals for
herself and the FIU team that she
is determined to accomplish.

“When I got here the spirit of
competition was kind of gone,”
Rodgers said. “I really and
honestly and truly just want to

make this a double-digit win, if
not, a 20 win team. I just want to
help be a part of that. My goal is
to help us win.”

STEADY SCORER: Hofstra transfer Rakia Rodgers has played in four games since gaining
eligibility for FIU and has averaged 15.5 points per game off the bench.

Rakia Rodgers can make
the game look easy.
Whether she’s driving
toward the basket for a
layup, knocking down a
shot from behind the arc, or
even making a steal on the
defensive end, it all seems
smooth and with finesse.
However, if you ask the
21-year-old FIU women’s
basketball player about her
life and basketball, she will
tell you it has been far from
easy.
As a lifelong foster child,
Rodgers’ passion for the
game began not long before
entering her freshman year
of high school.
Over that summer,
she would practice every
morning.
No matter what the
weather was like or how
she was feeling, the teenager would be in front of
her neighbor’s home, in
Virginia Beach, at 5 a.m.
sharp to begin her morning
workout.
Rodgers had not been
playing basketball for a
long time, but she had one
goal in mind. That was to
make the basketball team at
Princess Anne High School,
and she was determined.
“My neighbors had a
goal and they hated for
me to use [it] without me

asking, but I didn’t care,”
Rodgers recalled. “I would
just go out there and shoot
and shoot and the neighbors would complain to
my mom because it was so
early, but I had to do what I
had to do because I wanted
to make the team and I
wanted to play.”
The hard work paid off
and she was granted a spot
on the team.
Rodgers proved to be
successful, earning AllTidewater and All-State
honors along with AllBeach District Honors in
her four years.
The athlete’s next goal
was to attend college,
something no one in her
family had ever done.
“At first I didn’t even
know that you could get
a scholarship on playing
basketball. I didn’t find that
out until my sophomore
year,” said Rodgers. “When
I found that out is when I
decided that I would pursue
basketball and college.”
In
2007
Rodgers
accepted a scholarship
to Hofstra University in
Long Island, N.Y., where
she played one full season,
averaging 9.4 points and
5.0 rebounds per game.
Rodgers was named
to the Colonial Athletic
Conference’s All-Rookie
team, but even with the
success she never really

felt at home while at
Hofstra. Soon she decided
that it would be in her
best interest to transfer to
another university.
With offers from schools
such as Akron, Alabama,
University of Georgia and
University of South Florida,
the talented player, who
says she made her decision
mostly due to coaching
and her desire for a diverse
atmosphere, chose FIU.
“[The coaches] are
teaching me so much more
than just basketball. Coach
[Cindy] Russo has taught
me about my demographics
as a person, a lot of life
lessons,” said Rodgers. “I
didn’t grow up with parents
my whole life, I was a foster
child, so having someone
to take the time to show me
the things I couldn’t teach
myself really means a lot to
me.”
The only setback for
Rodgers, who arrived in
Miami nearing the end of
the 2008 season, was that
due to NCAA transfer regulations, she was forced to
sit out the remainder of last
season along with the first
nine games of this season.
Rodgers never really
saw it as a downfall, only
as another opportunity to
make her game and her
team better.
RODGERS, page 11

Jaguars use late scoring run to top Golden Panthers
FIU shot 37 percent from the
field and struggled at the foul line
STEPHANIE GABRIEL
Asst. Sports Director
The FIU women’s basketball team
was unable to close out 2009 the way
it would have liked.
The University of South Alabama,
however, was able to celebrate the new
year with their fifth consecutive win
after defeating the Golden Panthers
61-51 on New Year’s Eve at the U.S.
Century Bank Arena.
Forward Elisa Carey led FIU (6-8,
1-2 Sun-Belt) with 14 points and 14
rebounds, marking her fourth doubledouble of the season while Cherisse
Buddy had a solid game off the bench,
contributing a season-high 13 points
and 5 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Morriah Smith led the
Jaguars and all scorers with a career-

high 16 points.
The Golden Panthers uncharacteristically struggled from three-point
range as they shot just 22.7 percent
(5-of-22) while the Jaguars were efficient at 66.7 percent (8-of-12) on the
night.
“I think the only trouble we had was
that we weren’t making shots,” said
FIU point guard Michelle Gonzalez.
FIU got off to a stagnant start as
they trailed 16-9 in the first eight
minutes of the game. Buddy, however,
came off the bench to lead a 15-0 run
for the Golden Panthers.
At the 9:55 mark, the senior guard
knocked down a shot from behind the
arc to tie the game at 16. She later
finished the run with a fast break
layup, after making a steal, to put FIU
ahead 24 to16.

South Alabama kept the game close
as they tied it at 26 with a Shakira
Nettles’ 3-pointer at the sound of the
buzzer to end the first half.
“We didn’t make shots at the beginning and then at the end they were just
close,” said Gonzalez. “You can’t win
a game in the last three minutes. You
have to go hard from the beginning.”
Over the first seven minutes of
the second half the teams exchanged
baskets, but neither were able to really
pull away until the Jags scored 10
unanswered points to go up 49-41 at
the 9:23 mark.
Down the stretch South Alabama
hit six of its nine attempts from the
free throw line and 15-of-19 of them
for the night while FIU struggled,
making just 6-of-12 for the game.
“I was really concerned about
[FlU’s] size inside, but for the most
part, we did a pretty good job managing
it. It was a very opportunistic win for
our kids and they really stepped up for
WOMEN’S, page 10

CHRIS ADAMS/THE BEACON

GOING UP STRONG: FIU forward Elisa Carey looks to
score one of her 14 points against a USA defender. Carey was 5-of-9 from the floor and added 14 rebounds.